Sanofi Signs Agreement with Mannkind Corp to Develop and Market Insulin Inhaler

New Delhi, August 13, 2014 – French drugmaker Sanofi is trying to build insulin inhaler that would help diabetics from the requirement of taking insulin injections. For the same, Sanofi has signed a worldwide licensing agreement with MannKind Corp worth $925 million.

Inhalation appears to be a very good option for people with diabetics to become independent of routine injections. However, there are doubts over its adoption on a big scale because of potential risks associated with breathing powdered insulin into the lungs.

The deal is the latest for Sanofi to invent new ways to treat diabetes. Sanofi is currently placed at the No. 2 position in a global diabetes market worth $40 billion a year. However, its top-selling drug Lantus, the world’s most prescribed insulin, will lose patent protection next year, which is a big challenge for the company to deal with.

The new agreement will provide Sanofi the right to develop and market MannKind’s recently approved inhaled insulin therapy Afrezza for adults with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Both the companies are looking forward to launch Afrezza in the United States during the first quarter of 2015. Both will share profits and losses on a global basis.

Afrezza is taken through a whistle-sized inhaler and it works faster than injectable insulins made by Sanofi or rivals such as Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk.

“Afrezza is a further addition to our growing portfolio of integrated diabetes solutions. It is uniquely positioned to provide patients with another insulin therapy option to manage their diabetes but does not require multiple daily injections”, said Pierre Chancel, Sanofi’s diabetes division head. Reuters